Apparatus for fading textiles, and method of use

ABSTRACT

The present invention is an apparatus for stone washing a textile material. The stone washing apparatus comprises artificial abrasive stones made from carbon silicon that can be used extensively before requiring disposal. The artificial abrasive stones include means for connecting the abrasive stone to the inner surface of a wash chamber. Also provided is methods of using the abrasive stones.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method ofusing it to artificially wear and fade textile materials. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus comprisingartificial abrasive stones attached to the inside surface of a chamber,and a method of using the apparatus to stonewash a textile material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The technique of stone washing is used to wear and fade garmentmaterials during the manufacturing process. Typically, stone washinginvolves placing a quantity of loose pumice stone into a chambertogether with the garment material, and tumbling the garment with thepumice stone for a set period of time. Pumice stone, however, isexpensive and is generally limited to one or two stone washing cycles.More importantly to the present invention, pumice stone does notmaintain its physical integrity during use, but rather disintegrates,creating large amounts of waste.

[0003] While pumice stone is not highly durable, its use as a free stonein the chamber during the stone washing method only compounds itspropensity to break apart. More specifically, the pumice stone tends tobump into other free pumice stones in the chamber, thereby causing thestones to break apart. Thus, the use of pumice stone produces largeamounts of effluent residue, which attaches to the garment material andrequires large amounts of water to remove. Pumice stone is thereforeenvironmentally unfriendly and necessitates high labor expense.

[0004] Additionally, pumice stone generally has an uneven shape, whichcan result in the garment material having uneven wear and fade patterns.Furthermore, the abrasion effect can be very uneven, which can producelarge amounts of damaged material.

[0005] Thus, there is a demonstrated need for a durable, environmentallyfriendly, inexpensive, evenly shaped, and multi-use abrasive stone forproviding textile materials with a stone wash effect

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided anapparatus for providing a textile material with a stonewashed effect.The apparatus includes a plurality of artificial abrasive stonesattached to the inside surface of a chamber or wash drum. The artificialabrasive stones are fabricated from a material comprising carbonsilicon, clay, resin and a foaming agent. The chamber has an insidesurface with holes therethrough for receiving a connector deviceattached to the artificial abrasive stone. The connector is adapted tobe releasable from the inner surface hole of the chamber, therebyallowing the apparatus user to easily and conveniently replace theartificial abrasive stones as needed.

[0007] Therefore, in accordance with a general embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a method for providing the textile materialwith a stonewashed effect. The method comprising attaching the abrasivestones to the inner surface of the chamber and then adding the textileto the chamber. The chamber is then moved in such a manner as to causethe textile and attached stones to make contact, and, thus, result inthe textiles having a stone washed effect.

[0008] In another embodiment, the chamber is provided with theartificial abrasive stones attached to the chamber, and additionalcomponents such as smaller artificial abrasive stones, rubber balls,and/or grind stones are added to the chamber together with the textilematerial. The textile material is then processed to have a stone washedappearance by operably moving the chamber in such a manner that thetextile contacts the attached and freely added stones, any othercomponents.

[0009] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the artificialabrasive stone is made from materials comprising carbon silicon, clay,resin and foaming agents. The abrasive stones can be formed having aconstant size and shape, and, thus, can work with many types of textilematerials, such as pure cotton. The artificial abrasive stones aredurable and can be used in a significantly more washes than pumicestone.

[0010] Other embodiments, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from a review of the detailed descriptionof the preferred embodiments, including the illustrative drawings andthe appended claims which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an artificial abrasive stone ofthe present invention.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus of the present inventionshowing a chamber with artificial abrasive stones attached to the innersurface of the chamber.

[0013]FIG. 3 is a view of a portion of the inside surface of the chamberwith attached artificial abrasive stones of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The present invention will now be better understood below byreference to the attached figures. Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, thereis shown an embodiment of the apparatus of the present inventioncomprising artificial abrasive stones 10 attached to a chamber 20 usedto treat textile material. As illustrated, the stone 10 has a roundedupper surface 18 and extending from the bottom surface 16 is a steelbolt 12 with mating nut 14 for connecting upper surface 18, it should beunderstood that the stone 10 can be made in any shape. Thus, the stones10 can be molded in different shapes for creating various abrasioneffects and for use with different types of textile materials.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the stone 10 is coupled to a connector 24comprising a bolt 12 and nut 14 combination. It is preferable that whenattaching the stone 10 to the chamber 20 using a bolt and nut connector24 that the connector 24 be made from stainless steel to prevent theconnector 24 from corroding, which could hinder removal of the stone 10and damage the textile material. It should therefore be understood thatvarious non-corroding materials can be used to attach the stone 10 tothe chamber 20 without deviating from the scope of the presentinvention. Additionally, numerous types of connectors can be used toattach the stone 10 to the chamber 20. For instance, would could providethe stones with a threaded element and provide the chamber with fixedscrews to allow one to simply screw the stone onto and off of the fixedscrew. Alternatively, one could use a rubber plug having a first end setinto the stone 10 and a second end adapted to be pressed into theopening 30 to secure the stone 10 to the chamber surface 26. It shouldtherefore be understood that there exist a multitude of ways ofattaching the stone 10 to the chamber 20 that can be used withoutdeviating from the scope of the present invention.

[0016] In another preferred embodiment, the user is able to separate theconnector 24 from the stone 10. In this embodiment, the stone 10 isfabricated with a central threaded portion (not shown) extending throughthe stone 10. The bolt 12 is then threaded from the upper surface 18 ofthe stone to the bottom surface 16 of the stone. In this way, the bolt12 is passed through the stone 10 so that one end of the bolt is exposedon the uppers surface 18 of the stone and the bolt second end extendsfrom the bottom surface 16 of the stone 10 for engagement with thechamber inner surface opening 30. In a preferred use, the bolt 12 issimply unthreaded from the stone 10 and the free stone 10 is used as anunattached stone that can be placed directly into the chamber 24. Inthis way, as the stone 10 begins to become worn it can be recycled andused again in a stonewash method using unattached stones in the washchamber 20.

[0017] The artificial abrasive stones are preferably fabricated from acomposition comprising carbon silicon, clay, resin and foaming agents.In a preferred embodiment, a quantity of carbon silicon powder is mixedwith a clay, resin and a foaming agent. The mixed materials are thenplaced into a mold having the desired size and shape, and the mixture isheat cured in the range of 200° C. to about 1300° C. for a set period oftime. During the curing process, the foaming agent acts to provide thecarbon silicon stone with porosity, which results in the outer surface18 being abrasive.

[0018] Fabricating the abrasive stones from carbon silicon providesstones that are durable and long lasting. Pumice stones are limited toone to two washings; however, artificial stones added freely to thechamber 20 can last up to 10 times. Additionally, the artificialabrasive stones attached to the inner surface 26 of the chamber 20, andfabricated from the material comprising carbon silicon, clay, and resincan last up to 500 washes. Additionally, the cured stone can be safelyused with washing chemicals, such as dyes, fabric softeners, anddetergents.

[0019] It should be understood by one skilled in the art, that how hard,brittle, abrasive or porous the stone 10 is depends upon theconcentration of the components used to fabricate the stone 10.Furthermore, it is preferred that the stone be sized such that theuppermost portion of the upper surface be from about 0.75 inches toabout 1.25 inches from the inner surface 26 of the chamber 20.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a top view of thechamber 20 with the abrasive stones 10 of the present invention attachedto the chamber inside surface 26. As will be understood by those skilledin the art, the chamber 20 can be an industrial wash drum, or othertextile tumbling chamber known to one skilled in the art. Moreparticularly, one can attach the artificial abrasive stones 10 to any ofthe many chambers, drums, or tumblers used to treat textile materialswithout deviating from the scope of the present invention. It isimportant, however, that the type of chamber to which the stones 10 areattached provide consistent contact between the stones 10 and thetextile being treated to ensure the material has an even stonewasheffect.

[0021] In the preferred embodiment, the stones 10 are attached to thechamber inside surface 26 by passing the connector 24 through an opening30 that is provided through the chamber inside surface 26. As describedabove, the connector 24 is preferably a stainless steel bolt 12 with nut14. Thus, the stone 10 is attached to the chamber surface 26 where itremains fixed during the stonewash method. In another embodiment, thesurface 24 of the chamber 20 can further include an abrasive liner orother abrasive material, such as sandpaper (not shown).

[0022] Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a side view of the insidesurface 26 of a portion of the chamber 20. As illustrated, the stones 10can be symmetrically attached to the inside surface 26 of the chamber20, or alternatively, the stones 10 can be attached to the chamber 20 inan asymmetrical fashion. In another embodiment, the attached stones 10can have different sizes and shapes so as to provide the textilematerial with an assortment of abrasion effects.

[0023] A preferred method for using the artificial abrasive stones 10requires attaching the stones 10, of the same or different sizes, to thechamber inside surface 26. Because the connector 24 is preferablyreleasable, the user can easily and conveniently adjust the stones 10 asmay be desired. Once the correct stone size or orientation is selectedand the stone 10 is attached, the user places the textile material to betreated into the chamber 20. The chamber 20 is then placed into moveableoperation for a set period of time. It will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the type of chamber 20, time of operation, meansfor operating the chamber and many other operational factors can beadjusted without deviating from the scope of the present invention.

[0024] Those skilled in the art will understand that presently used washmachines have chambers or drums that have openings 30 through theirinner surface. As such, the presently described artificial abrasivestones with connectors can be used to retrofit existing chambers for thepurpose of practicing the present invention. More particularly, thestones 10 can be fabricated to order having bolts dimensioned to fitinto the openings through existing inner surface of existing chambers.Once inserted the stone is fixed by securing the nut about the bolt.

[0025] In another preferred embodiment, the chamber 20 having attachedstones 10 is used to treat textile material together with a quantity offree artificial stones and/or rubber balls. In even another embodiment,the user adds a quantity of grind stone to the chamber 20 to add evenanother variety of textile material abrasion. Again, it should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the quantity of additionalcomponents added to the chamber 20 will depend upon the fabric type andthe degree of wear and fade that is desired. An example protocol forproviding a textile material with a stone washed effect is as follows:

[0026] Sample Wash

[0027] Provide a chamber or wash drum in operation with a 500 lb washmachine.

[0028] Attach about 1,000 artificial abrasive stones to the chamberinner surface.

[0029] Place into the chamber as free components: 200 artificialabrasive stones being sized such that one of the freely added stonesoccupies less volume than one of the attached abrasive stones.

[0030] Place into the chamber as free components: 100 rubber balls, andtwo kilos. of grind stone.

[0031] Place around 200-250 pieces of heavy type blue indigo jeans intothe wash machine chamber.

[0032] For this wash example, add all the stone, jeans and a quantity ofenzyme at room temperature and let sit for 5 minutes, then ramp up thetemperature over a period of 5 minutes to 55° to 65° C., then over aperiod of 5-10 minutes increase the temperature to 85° C., followed by arinse. Following the rinse, the jeans or other textile are removed forfinishing or further treatment, such as bleaching or coloring.

[0033] Various embodiments of the present invention have been describedherein. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art,however, that the above described embodiments of the present inventionare set forth merely by way of example and should not be interpreted aslimiting the scope of the present invention, which is defined by theappended claims. Many other alternative embodiments, variations andmodifications of the foregoing embodiments that embrace various aspectsof the present invention will also be understood upon a reading of thedetailed description in light of the prior art. For instance, it will beunderstood that features of one embodiment may be combined with featuresof other embodiments while many other features may be omitted (orreplaced) as being nonessential to the practice of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing a textile material with astonewashed effect, the method comprising the steps of: (a) attaching toan inside surface of a chamber a plurality of artificial abrasivestones; (b) placing a textile material into the chamber; (c) moving thechamber so that the artificial abrasive stones contact the textilematerial so as to wear and fade the textile material; and (d) removingthe textile material from the chamber.
 2. The method claimed in claim 1,further comprising the step of attaching artificial abrasive stonesfabricated from a material comprising carbon silicon.
 3. The methodclaimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of adding to the insideof the chamber a quantity of unattached artificial abrasive stones. 4.The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of attaching artificialabrasive stones includes providing artificial abrasive stones adapted toattach to an inside surface of an existing chamber.
 5. The methodclaimed in claim 4, wherein the step of providing artificial abrasivestones further includes providing the artificial abrasive stones withsteel, plastic, or rubber connectors operable to fasten the artificialabrasive stones to the inner surface of the chamber.
 6. The methodclaimed in claim 1, further including the step of covering at least aportion of the inside surface of the chamber with an abrasive material.7. The method claimed in claim 6, wherein the step of covering at leasta portion of the inside surface of the chamber with an abrasive materialincludes covering at least a portion of the inside surface of thechamber with sandpaper or grind stone.
 8. The method claimed in claim 1,wherein the step of providing artificial abrasive stones includesproviding artificial abrasive stones having different shapes.
 9. Amethod for providing a textile material with a stonewashed effect, themethod comprising the steps of: (a) attaching to an inside surface of achamber a plurality of artificial abrasive stones made from a materialcomprising carbon silicon and clay, the abrasive stones having steel,plastic, or rubber connectors adapted to releasably attach the stone tothe inside surface of the chamber; (b) adding to the chamber a textilematerial and moving the chamber so that the artificial abrasive stonescontact the textile material; and (c) removing the textile material fromthe chamber.
 10. The method claimed in claim 9, further including thestep of adding to the chamber a quantity of the artificial abrasivestones.
 11. A method for providing a textile material with a stonewashedeffect, the method comprising the steps of: (a) attaching to an insidesurface of a chamber a plurality of artificial abrasive stones made froma material comprising carbon silicon; (b) adding to the chamber aquantity of the artificial abrasive stones; (c) adding to the chamber aquantity of rubber balls; (d) moving the chamber so that the artificialabrasive stones and rubber balls contact the textile material; and (c)removing the textile material from the chamber.
 12. The method claimedin claim 11, further comprising the step of adding to the chamber aquantity of grind stone.
 13. The method claimed in claim 11, wherein thestep of adding artificial abrasive stones to the chamber comprisesadding artificial abrasive stones that are sized such that each stonehas a volume less than each of the attached artificial abrasive stones.14. The method claimed in claim 10, further including the step of addinga quantity of enzyme to the chamber.
 15. An apparatus for providing atextile material with a stonewashed effect comprising: (a) a pluralityof artificial abrasive stones, each abrasive stone having a connector;and (b) a chamber adapted to hold textile material, the chamber havingan inner surface with a plurality of openings therethrough, the innersurface openings adapted to receive the abrasive stone connector,wherein the abrasive stones can be attached and easily removed from thechamber.
 16. The apparatus claimed in claim 15, wherein the artificialabrasive stones are porous.
 17. The apparatus claimed in claim 15,wherein the stone connector is a nut and bolt, plastic connector orrubber connector.
 18. The apparatus claimed in claim 17, wherein the nutand bolt is stainless steel.
 19. The apparatus claimed in claim 15,wherein the chamber is provided with a screw having a threaded endextending from the inner surface, and the stone is provided with athreaded portion, wherein the stone is attached by screwing the stoneonto the chamber screw.
 20. The apparatus claimed in claim 15, whereinthe artificial abrasive stone is fabricated from materials comprisingcarbon silicon.
 21. The apparatus claimed in claim 20, further includingmaterials comprising clay, resin and foaming agents.
 22. A method forproviding a textile material with a stonewashed effect, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) providing a chamber having a plurality ofartificial abrasive stones attached to the chamber inner surface, thechamber being adapted to moveably treat textile materials; (b) placing atextile material into the chamber; (c) moving the chamber so that theartificial abrasive stones contact the textile material so as to wearand fade the textile material; and (c) removing the textile materialfrom the chamber.
 23. The method claimed in claim 22, wherein the stepof providing a chamber includes providing a chamber having artificialabrasive stones attached to the inner surface fabricated from a materialcomprising carbon silicon.
 24. A method for providing a textile materialwith a stonewashed effect, the method comprising the steps of: (a)placing a textile material into a chamber, the chamber having aplurality of artificial abrasive stones attached to the chamber innersurface, the chamber being adapted to moveably treat textile materials;(b) moving the chamber so that the artificial abrasive stones contactthe textile material so as to wear and fade the textile material; and(c) removing the textile material from the chamber.
 25. The methodclaimed in claim 24, wherein the step of placing textiles into a chamberhaving attached abrasive stones, the abrasive stones are sized such thatthe uppermost portion of the stones upper surface is about 0.75 inchesto about 1.25 inches from the chamber inner surface.
 26. The methodclaimed in claim 5, further including the step of recycling theartificial abrasive stone attached to the inside surface of the chamber,the step comprising removing the artificial abrasive stone from thechamber inside surface, separating the stone from the connector, andadding the artificial abrasive stone back to the chamber for use as anunattached artificial abrasive stone.
 27. The method claimed in claim 3,wherein the step of adding a quantity of unattached artificial abrasivestones to the chamber comprises adding artificial abrasive stonesfabricated from a material comprising carbon silicon.